Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a lens drive adapter detachably attachable to a lens barrel and able to drive an operation member of the lens barrel.
Description of the Related Art
Lens barrels are mostly provided with an operation member such as an operation ring operable by a user for manual zooming or manual focusing. Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2007-108373 and others disclose lens drive adapters detachably attachable to a lens barrel and configured to electrically drive, using an actuator, an operation member provided on the lens barrel.
Such lens drive adapters include one configured to drive the operation member while communicating with a camera. For example, the lens drive adapter capable of communicating with the camera through a cable can be operated from the camera.
However, such a configuration connecting the lens drive adapter with the camera through the cable may impede construction of a compact and easy-to-use camera system.
Therefore, the lens drive adapter disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2007-108373 is provided with electric contacts for receiving power from the lens barrel and sending and receiving signals to and from the lens barrel.
In order to miniaturize the lens barrel to which the lens drive adapter is attachable and to dispose the operation member (operation ring) with a certain degree of freedom, the lens drive adapter is desirable to be fixed to the lens barrel at its optical-axis-directional end (at two circumferential locations on the lens barrel), that is, to be cantilever-supported.
However, when the electric contacts provided on such a cantilever-supported lens drive adapter connect with electric contacts provided on the lens barrel, if an external force such as an impact displaces the lens drive adapter with respect to the lens barrel, the connection of the electric contacts may become unstable. Thus, it is necessary to prevent such a displacement of the lens drive adapter with respect to the lens barrel due to the external force.